FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas – Adm. Alvin Holsey, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), along with his wife, Dr. Stephanie Holsey, and the command’s senior enlisted leader, Sgt. Maj. Rafael Rodriguez, visited U.S. Army South (USARSOUTH) headquarters, Jan. 15, 2025. This marked Holsey’s first visit to the headquarters as the SOUTHCOM commander.
USARSOUTH serves as the land component command of SOUTHCOM, playing a critical role in promoting regional stability and strengthening partnerships in South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
“We have to plan intricately for any and all contingencies in our area of responsibility, and every component command plays an integral role,” Holsey said while meeting with USARSOUTH leadership. “I share all of this with you to share the main problem set: If we can’t help our partners and allies, we can’t complete our ultimate mission of securing the homeland.”
During the visit, Holsey spoke about his priorities as the SOUTHCOM commander and received briefings on USARSOUTH capabilities, current and future operations, and he engaged with key leaders of units that support the USARSOUTH and SOUTHCOM mission.
After meeting with commanders from the 410th Contracting Support Brigade and the 470th Military Intelligence Brigade, Holsey then met with partner nation liaison officers, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and building relationships.
“When you look at our mission statement, security cooperation and presence is what our partners are asking for,” Holsey noted. “Building partner nation capacity is our main priority. We have fought alongside them in past wars, and we will need them in future wars.”
While her husband was integrating with USARSOUTH personnel, Dr. Holsey visited several locations around Fort Sam Houston, focusing on quality-of-life initiatives for service members and their families.
Her itinerary included stops at Cole High School, a child care facility, and the Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center. She also met with the 502nd Air Base Wing to discuss opportunities for improving the quality of life for military families.
“There’s a lot of programs and initiatives here that aim to take care of service members and their families, and I think that’s fantastic,” Dr. Holsey proclaimed. “When a service member is down range and their family is taken care of, that is one less thing they have to worry about which enables them to focus on the mission.”
Dr. Holsey’s engagements underscored the SOUTHCOM commitment to enhancing the well-being of service members, ensuring they and their families have access to the resources and support they need.
USARSOUTH enables multidomain operations in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility by identifying, exposing and degrading malign influence, setting the theater, and conducting security cooperation operations and activities as part of integrated deterrence towards threats to the U.S. homeland.
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